Method of and system for tempering material



Dec. 20, 1932. E, wlNKLEY 1,891,274

METHOD OF AND SYSTEM FOR TEMPERING MATERIAL v Filed Jan. 9, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet .1

De. 20, 1932. wlNKLEY 1,891,274

METHOD OF AND SYSTEM FOR TEMPERING MATERIAL Filed Jan. 9, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 20, 1932. E, W|NKLETY 1,891,274

. METHOD OF AND SYSTEM FOR TEMPERING MATERIAL Filed Jan. 9, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 42:4; 8% Q fim Patented Dec. 20, 1932 PATNT EBASTUS E. WINKLEY, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATEBSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY METHOD OF AND SYSTEM FOR TEMPERING MATERIAL Application filed. January 9, 1929. Serial No. 331,380.

My invention relates to the art of tempering such material as shoe-parts, this involving a method and a system by which the material is caused to take up moisture and thereby be conditioned for operations upon it.

The advantages gained by tempering or mulling portions of shoes to render them more extensible or pliable, and thus capable of being stretched or otherwise formed without danger of injury, are well recognized. Difliculty, however, is encountered in determining with accuracy the duration of the tempering action or the degree of temper to give thebest results during after-operations, and in maintaining the desired temper until all the parts treated at one time have been used. Objects of the present invention are to effectively control the temper of the material and to keep it substantially at this temper for the desired period.

A phase of the invention resulting in the attainment of these objects may be found in a novel method of tempering shoeor other work-portions in which the work is subjected r to the action of a tempering medium, which may be the vapor given off by a body of liquid, and determining the degree of temper by the effect of the medium upon material having a characteristic similar to that of the work. Preferably, this temper-controlling material is furnished by a test-piece taken from the work itself, and the characteristic thereof furnishing the best test of which I am aware is the capacity of the piece for deformation. In upper-material, this characteristic may be its extensibility, and in bottom-material, its flexibility, both of these increasing with the temper. A deforming force may be imposed upon the test-piece corresponding to that which the work is to receive during the operations upon it, as that to which the upperl-eather is subjected in forming to a last. From the behavior of the piece under the influence of the deforming force, the correct duration of the tempering action may be determined.

A group of the work-parts having attained the proper temper, they should remain substantially unchanged as to moisture-content unt'l the making operations have been performed upon them. To bring this about, my invention includes a procedure by which the parts are placed in a container, said container with the parts associated with a source of tempering medium, and the parts delivered in this container for an operation upon them. The tempering moisture is applied to the work through an opening in the container, which is thereafter closed for the delivery and utilization of the parts. I prefer to associate the container with a liquid-receptacle from which moisture is received through tile opening, and to then cause the closing of the opening by its support upon a conveying device, by which the container is transferred to a point at which the making operations are to be performed.

in connection with the control of temper, this invention provides a novel system in which atempering chamber receives the work, and contains a test-piece, which may be of the material under treatment, but which at least possesses a characteristic resembling that of the work, as its capacity for deformation. Combined with the chamber is indicating means arranged to be operated by connections to the test-piece. As illustrated, a spring applies a deforming force to the testpiece. The indicating means is connected to the spring and is controlled during its action. In the present instance, this means not only gives an indicationof the temper to which the workhas been brought, but also directly governs the action of the tempering medium, as by a valve which releases from. the receptacle a liquid producing the tempering eliect.

The temper-retaining procedure of this invention may be carried out by that arrangement of the system in which a container for work-portions, which container is provided with a bottom-opening, may act as a closure for a liquid-receptacle, receiving the tempering moisture through the bottom-opening, and may also rest upon and be closed by a conveying device, which serves both to transfer the work to a point of utilization and to in aintain the temper by preventing evaporation of the moisture. A desirable arrangement of the system is one in which the liquid-receptacle is of such size that the closure by a workcontainer is but partial, it receiving a series of said containers for simultaneous action upon the work-portions in all. The tempering elements of the system may comprise a receptacle open at the top, and in which a tempering atmosphere may be maintained, and a container open at the bottom and arranged to act as a closure for the receptacle, there being a foraminous partition extending between the side walls of the receptacle and supporting the material to be tempered. There is shown a removable cover for the top of the container, to permit the placing of the work upon the partition and the closure of the container to retain the tempering mois ture. Evaporation of the liquid in the receptacle may be facilitated by means for circulating air between the surface of the liquid and the partition.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the elements of my improved system organized for performing the method of the invention. In these,

Fig. 1 is a broken perspective view of one extremity of the tempering portion of the system organized for operation upon shoesoles;

Fig. 2 is a similar View of the opposite extremity;

Fig. 3 shows the conveying and temperretaining portion of the system and Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but arranged for tempering uppers and without circulating means.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, we have a tank or receptacle 10 tor'a tempering liquid, as water. 'I his tank is preferably of rectangular form in. a horizontal plane, and of relatively small height, so that the surface of a comparatively shallow body of water which it contains will not be much separated from its upper edge. The top of the tank may be closed against the escape of the vapor given off from the contained water by the means for containing the material under treatment, as shoe-soles S. This containing means may consist of one or more boxes or containers 12, which rest upon cleats or a rectangular frame 14 overhanging the edge of the tank. The tank and box may be of such dimensions that one of the latter alone will furnish a closure; or the tank may be extended, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, in whichcase the complete closure is provided by a series of the boxes. the length of each being substantially equal to the width of the tank, and the tank-length be.- ing some multiple of the box-width. lVith the multiple closure, cross-bars 16 between the sides of the frame may assist in the support of the boxes. Each box 12 is shown as having openings at the bottom id top. Across the bottom, extending bet veen the side walls, is a foraminous work-supper partition 17, conveniently of wire-screern The top of each box may be closed b w hinged cover 18. With the cover raised, the shoe-parts, as the soles S carried by a rack 7', may he placed upon the partition, and the cover closed for the tempering operation. The water 1V in the tank may be vaporized at r om-temperaturcs, or heat may he applied in any desired manner. I prefer to create a current of air over the surface of the water. This is shown as accomplished by a fan F having its shatt passing through a contracted opening in the end wall of the tank for the application of power. The fan is at one side of a longitudinal partition 20, which extends centrally oi. the tank from a point near one extremity to a point near the opposite end. The fan-blades operate in a circular opening 22 in a transverse partition Ql, which. with the end of the tank, forms a small chamber, this providing a connecting passage between the two longitudinal sections. There is produced by the tan a circulation of the air down one side of the tank, up through the boxes and back by way of the other side of the tank. By this, evaporation of the water is facilitated because of the tendency to create contact of all the air with the surface of said water, and by the breaking-mp of scum which may form upon the surface. It also produces more uniform conditions as to humidity throughout the boxes. Exchange between the air in the interior of the chamber, turnished by the tank and boxes, and the outer air, with a consequent disturbance of the desired conditions of the contained humiditying atmosphere is prevented by the practically complete closure of the tank-top by the boxes, and the closeness of fit between the fanshatt and the tank-opening. The close proximity of the work upon the supporting partition to the surface of the water causes a rapid transmission or" moisture to the former.

To determine. the duration of treatment of the work, and therefore. the degree of temper imparted, I have provided means through which this may be controlled. Situated in the tank, as atthe end of the partition 20 opposite the fan and between this partition and the adjacent end wall of the tank, is a. clamp or holder 26 secured to a tank-wall. In this clamp is fixen a test-piece of material resembling in its characteristics the work-pieces which are to he temp .red. For this testpiece, there is best employed. in the embodiment of the invention now being described, one of the soles under treatment, as appears at s in Fig. To the piece 8. a deforming force is applied by some. such means as a tension-spring 28. One extremity of the spring is attached to toe tank. while the other extremity is joined to the end of the piece in the clamp by a flexible member 30 and a removable yoke 82 engaging the end of the piece. Between the yoke and the spring, the member 30 is guided over sheaves 33. In eluded in or united with he connections is an element of indicating means, as a consequence of a change in which means the tempering action may be suspended. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, this suspension is made entirely automatic. The element just referred to is furnished by a bellcrank lever 34- fulcrumed upon the tank and movable into contact with an adjusting member 36 threaded upon the stem of a valve 38 which governs an opening at 40 in the bottom of the tank. Normally, the valve is allowed to remain seated and the opening 40 closed, the lever 34 being held out of effective engagement with said valve by the connections to the test-piece s. As the soles S in the boxes 12 absorb moisture from the tempering medium in the chamber, they become more flaccid. Since the test-piece s is the same as or similar to the soles, it correspondingly changes and is bent by the pull of the spring, which, in the dry condition of the piece, did not deform it. When the work has reached a condition suitable for the performance of the succeeding operations, the yield of the piece 8 will cause the spring to bring the lever against the member 36, so the valve will be lifted from the opening and the water permitted to flow from the tank. The tempering action is therefore stopped. At the same time, the flow from the tank gives the operator an indication of the condition in the chamber, and the boxes are removed for utilization of the contents. Instead of emptying the tank or otherwise directly nullifying its influence upon the work, as by cutting ofi the supply of the tempering vapor thereto, an indication alone may be provided warning the operator to take the boxes from the tank. For this purpose, the arrangement may be generally the same as just described, except that the movement of the connections under the pull of the spring .when the test-piece flexes suff ciently may be caused to energize a signal, as by ringing a bell or producing the illmnination of a lamp. However the degree of tempering action islimited, it may be determined with considerable accuracy for different materials or different manufacturing conditions by altering the projection beyond the clamp 26 at the end of the test-piece to which the yoke 32 is attached, by adjusting the contact member 36 upon the valvestem, or by changing the force'of the spring 28, as by shifting its attachment to the tank- Wall by means Of it nut 41.

In tempering certain work-portions, as shoe-uppers, the critical characteristic is the extensibility of the stock. This fixes the force which may be applied in such an apparatus as a pulling-over or lasting machine, without danger of marring or unduly strainthe upper-material. In Fig. i, an arrangement for tempering shoe-uppersV is illustrated. This may be in all respects similar to that already described, except that here the test-piece is furnished by a strip u of the upper-leather, or a piece of material which will respond to tempering and stressing in a like manner. One end of the strip u is secured to the wall of the tank 10 by a clamp 42, while a clamp 44 unites a portion at the other extremity to the connections 30 leading to the spring 28 and to the indicating means. Here this spring exerts a force corresponding to that which is to be applied by the machine which is to operate on the tem pered stock. The resistance of the dry piece 10 to elongation normally maintains the indicating device 38 inactive. But when the desired temper of the uppers V has been reached, the piece is extended to a predetermined degree by the spring to cause thereby the cessation of the tempering effect, or to give a signal to the operator, or both.

Fig. 4 also shows another construction differing from Figs. 1 and 2. Instead of circulating the tempering medium throughout the tank, this tank is divided by transverse partitions 46, corresponding in their spacing to the width of the boxes, the longitudinal partition 20 and the fan being omitted. When so organized, the tempering portion of the system may be used to simultaneously act upon different kinds of material, or to temper these for different purposes, there being a controlling mechanism with its test-piece in each of the tank-sections, each test-piece corresponding in character to the contents of the vertically alined box.

After the removal of the boxes 12 from the tank 10, for which they have acted as a closure during the tempering of their contents, it is desired that the work shall remain at substantially the same temper until all the pieces have been-operated upon. To accomplish this, a rack R or other conveying de vice (Fig. 3) upon which the work is transferred between operating positions, carries upon one or more of its shelves a closure for the opening of a tempering box 12. This closing device preferably consists of an imperforate tray 48 having greater superficial dimensions than the box-opening, the tray supporting and preventing the escape of air from the bottom of the applied box. I-Iandles 50 upon the ends of the box facilitate its transfer between the tank and ccnveying tray. The operator to whom a box of tempered pieces is delivered may raise the cover 18, re-

move a convenient number of pieces, and

again close the cover. The contents of the box will therefore remain substantially unchanged as to the moisture-content until they have been utilized. Having been emptied. the box is taken from the tray, supplied with another group of work-pieces, and replaced upon the tank 10 for their tempering under the control of a corresponding test-piece.

The general operation of my tempering system and the manner in which it is employed to perform the method of this invention will be evident from the description already given. It is to be particularly noted that the duration of treatment of the stock by this system and method is in no Way de-- termined by the degree of humidity of the tempering atmosphere, his old procedure having no direct relation to the behavior of the tempered material during after-operations, but, instead, the treatment is governed in accordance with the response of the material itself, or of an equivalent material. In this w a. condition of the stock can be attained which assurescorrect results for definite operating forces to be applied. Further, conditions established are substantially maintained, and successive making operations may be performed upon all the pieces of a simultaneously treated group, without loss of temper. While my invention has been particularly described in its application to the tempering of shoe-portions, it is not to be con strued as limited to this, but is useful in connection with any material which is to be rendered more readily workable by the absorption of moisture.

Having described m invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The method of tempering work-portions, which consists in subjecting the work to the action of a tempering medium, simultaneously subjecting a test-piece of the material to the action of the medium, and applying a force resisted by the test-piece to vary the application of the tempering medium to the work-portions as said test-piece becomes tempered.

:2. The method of tempering shoe-parts, which consists in subjecting the parts to the action of a tempering medium simultaneously subjecting a test-piece of the shoe-material, to the action of the medium, applying to the test-piece during such action a force corresponding to one to which the tempered parts are to be subjected in further operations upon them, and determining the duration of the tempering action by the behavior of the testpiece.

3. The method of tempering shoe-upper material, which consists in subjecting the material to the action of a tempering medium, simultaneously subjecting a test-piece of the material to the action of the medium, applying to the test-piece during such action a force corresponding to that to which the upper-material is to be subjected in lasting, and determining the duration of the tempering action by the deformation of the testpiece under the applied force.

4. The method of tempering upper-leather for shoes, which consists in simultaneously subjecting the upper-leather and a test-piece of such leather to the action of moisture, applying to the test-piece a force tending to elongate it, and governing the action of the moisture upon the upper-leather by the elongation of the test-piece.

5. The method of tempering leather shoeparts, which consists in enclosing such. leather parts and a test-piece thereof in a chamber with a body of liquid, maintaining a closure of the chamber until the test-piece has undergone a predetermined change of form under the tempering action of the liquid, and releasing the body of liquid from the chamber under the control of the tempered test-piece.

6. T he method of tempering and maintaining the temper of shoe-portions, which consists in placing the portions in a container in which is an opening, subjecting the portions to the action of a tempering medium introduced through the opening, closing the opening to the container to retain the absorbed medium, and delivering the tempered p-)rtions in the closed container for operations upon them.

7. The method of tempering and maintaining the temper of shoe-portions, which consists in placing the portions in a container in which is an opening, applying the container to a receptacle in which is a tempering liquid, the containerclosing the receptacle and receiving moisture through the opening, removing the container from the receptacle, and closing theopening by supporting the container upon a conveying device.

8. In a tempering system for leather shoe-parts, a tempering chamber arranged to contain a body of liquid and to receive the leather parts, a holder in the chamber, a testpiece of leather secured in the holder with a portion projecting therefrom, indicating means, a flexible member connecting the pro jecting portion of the test-piece and the indicating means, and means for applying through the flexible member to the test-piece adeforming force.

9. In a tempering system for leather shoeparts, a tempering chamber arranged to contain a body of liquid and to receive the leather parts, a holder in the chamber, a test-piece of leather secured in the holder with a por tion projecting therefrom, indicating means, a flexible member connecting the projecting portion of the test-piece and the indicating means, and a spring connecting the flexible means and the chamber.

10. In a tempering system for leather shoeparts, a tempering chamber arranged to contain a body of liquid and to receive the leathor parts, a holder in the ehambe a test-piece of leather secured in the holder with portion projecting therefrom, indicating means, con nections to the indicating means and said projecting portion extending substantially at right angles to the test-piece, and means for applying through the connections a force tending to bend the test-piece.

11. In a tempering system for leather shoeparts, a tempering chamber arranged to contain a body of liquid and to receive the leather parts, a holder in the chamber, a test-piece of leather secured in the holder with a portion projecting therefrom, indicating means, connections to the indicating means and said projecting portion extending longitudinally of the test-piece, and means for applying through the connections a force tending to elongate the test-piece.

12. In a tempering system, a tempering chamber arranged to receive work, a testpiece having a characteristic similar to that of the w rlr and under the influence of the atmosphere in the chamber, a spring arranged to exert a force upon the test-piece corresponding to that of a later operation upon the work, and indicating means controlled during the action of the spring.

13. In a tempering system, a chamber constructed and arranged to contain a tempering liquid and the material to be tempered, and means controlled by the tempering effect of the liquid for releasing said liquid from the chamber.

14. In a tempering system, a chamber constructed and arranged to contain a tempering liquid and the material to be tempered, said chamber being provided with an outlet-opening for the liquid, a valve controlling the opening, and automatic means for operating he valve.

15. In a tempering system, a receptacle for a tempering liquid, said receptacle having an outlet-opening for the liquid, a valve controlling the opening, a test-piece having a characteristic similar to that of the material to be tempered and supported within the receptacle, and connections between the testpiece and valve.

16. In a tempering system, a receptacle for a tempering liquid, said receptacle being open at the top and provided with an outlet-openin at the bottom, avalve controlling the outlet-opening, automatic means for operating the valve, and a container for material to be tempered arranged to act as a closure for the top of the receptacle.

17. In a tempering system, a receptacle, said receptacle being open at the top and provided with an outlet-opening, means for controlling the outlet-opening, and a container for material to be tempered arranged to cooperate with the top of the receptacle.

18. In a system for tempering and maintaining the temper of work-portions, a receptacle for a liquid, a conveying device, and a container for work-portions, said container being provided with a bottom-opening and constructed and arranged to act as a closure for the receptacle and to rest upon and be closed by the conveying device.

19. In a system for tempering and maintaining the temper of work-portions, a receptacle for a liquid, a conveying device, and

a series of containers for work-portions, each container being provided with a bottomopening, the series of containers being arranged to together furnish a complete closure for the receptacle with the bottom-openings communicating therewith, and each container being arranged to rest upon and be closed by the conveying device.

20. In a system for tempering shoe-portions, a container having side Walls open at the bottom and top, a foraminous partition extending between the side walls and arranged to support the portions to be tempered, a device arranged to support and close the lower portion of the container, and a removable cover for the container.

21. In a system for tempering shoe-portions, a receptacle in which a tempering at mosphere may be maintained, said receptacle being open at the top, container open at the bottom and top and having a foraminous partition extending between the side walls and arranged to support the material to be tempered, said container being arranged to act as a closure for the receptacle, and a removable cover for the top of the container.

22. In a system for tempering shoe-portions, a container having side walls open at the bottom and top, a foraminous partition extending between the side walls and arranged to support the portions to be tempered, a liquid receptacle upon which the bottom of the container may rest, means for circulating air between the partition and the surface of the liquid in the receptacle, and a removable cover for the container.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ERASTUS E. WINKLEY. 

